RENO, Nev. – Round two of the Silver State rivalry between the Reno Aces and Las Vegas Aviators was just as exciting as the first, and though Las Vegas captured the series win, Reno still had moments to hang their hat on.
The Aces jumped on the scoreboard first in the series opener, eventually storming their way to an 8-6 victory on May 12. Kristian Robinson was key in the victory, doubling and scoring a run in the third before later launching a three-run blast into left center in the fourth. Earning the win was Thomas Hatch, punching out four over 5.2 innings and allowing just two runs.
Robinson also walked twice in that contest, giving him his fourth game of the season recording two or more hits and two or more walks which is the most in the PCL.
Reno furiously tried to catch the Aviators on May 13 after watching their first-inning 2-1 lead disappear, but their ninth-inning rally failed to score as Las Vegas held for a 6-5 win.
Anderdson Rojas drew a walk and LuJames Groover singled, Tyler Locklear delivered an RBI single before Jacob Amaya added another run-scoring hit to give the Aces their early advantage. Reno threatened in the ninth with a two-out single and walk, but the Aces left both men stranded.
It was a perfect 3-for-3 night by Rojas, who also scored and walked once each. Groover was the only Ace with multiple RBI, while Amaya walked three times in addition to going 1-for-2 with a run scored and RBI.
One inning was all the difference in the contest between Reno and Las Vegas on May 14, as the Aviators scored three times in the fifth to hand Reno a 3-1 defeat.
All was smooth sailing for the Aces until the fifth inning when Mitch Bratt, who had cruised through four innings without a run allowed, left in precaution of an injury. The Aviators scored three times following his exit, handing him his first Triple-A decision in the form of a loss.
Amaya helped Reno avoid the shutout on an RBI groundout, scoring LuJames Groover who had doubled to start the sixth.
The Aces had to battle through the final out on May 15 as their seven-run lead nearly disappeared, but in the end, Reno was able to secure a 9-8 victory to level their series at 2-2.
Dylan Ray made his returned from the injured list and shined outside of a surrendered leadoff homer, allowing just three more hits while striking out four with two walks over four frames.
Luis Urías had a night with his first Reno home run, driving in three while ending with a trio of knocks and two runs scored. He was one of two Aces with a three-hit game, as Luken Baker was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a double, and a pair of walks.
Crucial in the game again was Robinson, who ripped a triple to center in Reno’s first at-bat of the contest. That marked Robinson’s second leadoff triple of the season, also doing so against this same Las Vegas squad during a 10-7 win on April 17. Overall, this is the third straight season in which an Ace has hit at least two leadoff triples, joining the duo of Jake McCarthy (2025) and Albert Almora Jr. (2024).
Reno battled back throughout the night on May 16, but a six-run ninth inning by Las Vegas proved too much to overcome in an 11-5 loss.
Four Aces had RBI on the night including Amaya, who homered for his only hit in three trips during the eighth inning to briefly tie the game. Luis Urías also drove in one, posting a 2-for-4 effort with a double and run scored.
Groover doubled for his only knock and Tommy Troy singled and scored, both extending their on-base streaks to 36 and 26 games, respectively. For Groover, it is the fifth-longest such streak in franchise history.
May 17 saw Reno get denied a series split, but more notably also saw the end of both streaks by Groover and Troy as the Aces were handed a 7-1 defeat by the Aviators.
The Aces had managed just three hits though the first eight innings, but they managed to avoid a shutout with back-to-back doubles in the ninth from Urías and Christian Cerda. That was the second double of the game for Urías, who ended 2-for-3 while also walking once.
Both Groover and Troy were 0-for-4 in the contest, bringing their respective streaks to a conclusion. Groover’s 36-game span was the third longest in all professional baseball, as only Nick Kurtz (40 games) of the Athletics and Chad Stevens (38 games) of Albuquerque have reached base in more consecutive games. For Troy, his streak at 26 games entered the day as the third longest active in the PCL.
Despite numerous web gems throughout the series, it was a tough day in the field for Reno as they committed four errors to set a new season high. The last time the Aces committed four errors was over a decade ago when they made four on May 26, 2015 during a 7-5 win at New Orleans.
There were four Aces that hit above the .300 mark, but none higher than Luis Urias as he batted .421 (8-for-19) with five runs scored, three doubles, one homer, five RBI and a 1.166 OPS. The next closest to Urías was Rojas, who had seven hits in 19 trips (.368) and scored three times with a double and only one strikeout.
Next week will see the Aces head to Oklahoma City for the first time in 2026 to battle against the Comets at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark beginning on Tuesday, May 19.